Insightman,
In February,2000 I visited the Honda website and saw the Insight for the first time. While surfing Yahoo looking for info on Hybrid and Electric cars I found your website and enjoyed it very much. I was so enlightened just seeing how much fun you were having with your Insight. At the time I was driving a 1987 Honda Accord LXI coupe with 223,000 miles, best car I ever owned. I live in Coastal N.C. where no dealers had an Insight, plus Insights had no cruise control and costs 5 or 6 thousand dollars more than a very nicely equipped Civic. So on April 15, 2000 I bought a 2000 Civic EX Coupe. I had looked at all the numbers, even computed how long and how many miles it would take me to work my way back to the $15,000 cost of the Civic had I purchased an Insight.
Next, the Insights started showing up one at a time here and there. The dealers would call me because I had made inquiries long ago. The first dealer to call me was Lejuene Honda, Jacksonville, N.C.; they received a red Insight in late April, shortly after my Civic purchase elsewhere. Because having a cruise control is important to me--and I had just purchased a new Civic with cruise--I did not even go look at that Insight.
I went to Lejuene Honda to order a spoiler for my Civic on May 5th and happened to notice they still had the car they had called me about a month earlier.
It was the only Insight they had!
I sat in it and it had 4 inches more headroom than my Civic, however the Civic has the sunroof, which accounts for some of the difference. All the original interest I had in the car resurfaced somewhat like a panic attack! I began rationalizing by remembering that I had lived without cruise control for many years. The more I looked, I began to really see how much advanced technology there was to appreciate in the Insight. I should never have questioned the cost comparisons. The most important realization was that I am 55 years old and had no reason to deny myself this fun little car. So, after looking the Insight over carefully, I bought it in less than two hours.
I am learning to drive it and having a lot of fun! Thank you for your help along the way , you even stuck with me when I bought the Civic which is for sale for 14,500 .Only 1453 miles.
Keep up the good work!
Jim Skinner - Pilot and Airplane Mechanic
[Jim, glad I could help nourish the hybrid seeds that were growing inside you despite your initial selection of the Civic. My wife has a Civic EX, which is a mighty fine car and a lot more practical than the Insight so I know that you had to make a tough decision to abandon the known Civic for the unknown Insight. Regarding your cost comparisons, Honda's selling this car at such a great price for what it contains that there are no other apples to which the Insight can be compared--assuming the Insight can fit one's lifestyle. Welcome to the small club of Insight owners! Welcome to an oppressive bar graph that will mock your every attempt to...what am I saying? It's 1 am and time for bed--InsightMan.]
[PS. It appears that an aftermarket cruise control can be used with the Insight. Info to come--InsightMan.]